Jimi Hendrix　

In his brief four-year reign as a superstar, Jimi Hendrix expanded the vocabulary of the electric rock guitar more than anyone before or since. Hendrix was a master at coaxing all manner of u ..more

John Lennon　

Out of all the Beatles, John Lennon had the most interesting -- and frustrating -- solo career. Lennon was capable of inspired, brutally honest confessional songwriting and melodic songcraft; ..more

Jeff Beck　

While he was as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck never achieved the same commercial success as any of those contemp ..more

Judas Priest　

Judas Priest was one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the ’70s, spearheading the New Wave of British Heavy Metal late in the decade. Decked out in leather and chains, the band fused the ..more

Journey　

During their initial 14 years of existence (1973-1987), Journey altered their musical approach and their personnel extensively while becoming a top touring and recording band. The only constant fac ..more

Jethro Tull　

Jethro Tull were a unique phenomenon in popular music history. Their mix of hard rock, folk melodies, blues licks, surreal, impossibly dense lyrics, and overall profundity defied easy analysis, but ..more

Janis Joplin　

The greatest white female rock singer of the 1960s, Janis Joplin was also a great blues singer, making her material her own with her wailing, raspy, supercharged emotional delivery. First ris ..more

Joni Mitchell　

When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century. Uncompromising and iconoclastic, Mitchell confounded expect ..more

Justin Timberlake　

Justin Timberlake may be the quintessential pop star of the new millennium, a star who jumped from platform to platform on his way to establishing himself as something bigger than a star： he was a ..more

Jackson Browne　

In many ways, Jackson Browne was the quintessential sensitive Californian singer/songwriter of the early ’70s. Only Joni Mitchell and James Taylor ranked alongside him in terms of influenc ..more

Jefferson Airplane　

Jefferson Airplane was the first of the San Francisco psychedelic rock groups of the 1960s to achieve national recognition. Although the Grateful Dead ultimately proved more long-lived and popul ..more

James Taylor　

When people use the term singer/songwriter (often modified by the word sensitive) in praise or in criticism, they’re thinking of James Taylor. In the early ’70s, when he appeared with his intro ..more

Joe Jackson　

In his 1999 memoir, A Cure for Gravity： A Musical Pilgrimage, Joe Jackson writes approvingly of George Gershwin as a musician who kept one foot in the popular and one in the classical rea ..more

Joe Satriani　

The 1980s were a golden age for guitar heroes but even six-string slingers need a hero of their own. Enter Joe Satriani. More than a hero, Satriani was a mentor, setting an example of what could ..more

The Jam　

The Jam were the most popular band to emerge from the initial wave of British punk rock in 1977; along with the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Buzzcocks, the Jam had the most impact ..more

Jack Johnson　

Before Jack Johnson became the 21st century kingpin of beachside pop/rock, he was a champion surfer on the professional circuit. The sport was second nature to the Hawaiian native, who began chasin ..more

John Mellencamp　

Throughout his career, John Mellencamp has had to fight, whether it was for the right to record under his own name or for respect as an artist. Of course, he never made it easy on himself. Mellen ..more

Joy Division　

Formed in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became the first band in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing a ..more

Japan　

James　

As one of the first groups to be dubbed the next Smiths, James became an institution on the British alternative music scene during the ’80s and ’90s with their pleasant folk-pop. Early in thei ..more